Firms '˜pocket millions more from benefits'

The Department for Work & Pensions office in London.The Department for Work & Pensions office in London.
The Department for Work & Pensions office in London.
A SHEFFIELD woman with mental health problems claims she was asked during her assessment for disability benefits why she had not killed herself,

Alice Kirby, 25, accused the Department for Work and Pensions of “institutional abuse”.

She said: “Questions about suicide could be appropriate in a psychiatric assessment, but should not be discussed in a benefits assessment.

Contractors are not given specific questions for assessments, though the DWP insists that sensitive questions are “asked appropriately”.

Ms Kirby’s case is awaiting a “mandatory reconsideration”.